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I have exclusively not one but two letters from AFTRA (see below) — one thanking Ellen DeGeneres for her support of the writers and the other contradicting today’s WGA East statement attacking the comedienne. (See my previous, WGAE States Ellen “Not Welcome In NY”.) But first, her rep’s statement: “Ellen has done nothing to violate the Writers Guild of America agreement. Ellen is competing with other first-run syndicated shows that are delivering original programming like Dr. Phil, Regis and Kelly, and Oprah during the competitive November sweeps period. Telepictures and Warner Bros have a contractual obligation to the affiliates to continue production and deliver original programming. They asked Ellen to come back to work to fulfill her contractual obligation as host and producer.
“As a syndicated show, the individual stations control when the show airs. If Telepictures does not deliver original episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the stations can move the show out of its time periods, or ultimately hold the company in breach of contract.
“Telepictures provides first run programming to stations they don’t control. The network controls their own schedule and programming with the late night shows as Leno, Conan, Kimmel etc. (We can’t speak to the specific deals at each network or to the specifics of other shows’ decisions to stop production).”
I should point out that AFTRA is often accused of having undercut Guild contracts for years and poaching jobs that are traditional SAG jurisdiction. But here is the first letter from AFTRA dated November 8th (and written before today’s WGAE statement) expressing “appreciation to you for your invidual act of solidarity shown to the striking writers in their efforts to negotiate a fair contract with the industry producers”:
And then today AFTRA wrote a second letter defending Ellen to the WGA East after that organization’s attack on the TV host today. This is signed by AFTRA National executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth:
Finally, here is the portion of the Writers Guild’s “Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) that addresses Ellen’s situation as it now stands:
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Q: Why aren’t the writers attacking Oprah for doing the same thing?
A: Because they don’t have the balls.
You can taste the rabid desperation of the wolves as they turn on each other.
Most of us IATSE members applaud Ellen for keeping her crew working. obviously unlike you writers she understands that its her crew which makes her show happen. Thank god someone has some balls in this town. We all know the actors that walk the picket lines and bring goodies are only doing it to suck up to all of you so you will back SAG when the time comes. FYI you selfish greedy untalented members all seem to forget one important thing. You write -Iatse makes it happen. With out us it would never get on film. We are the ones that are suffering while you get churros and smoothies while you picket a couple hours a day. We are all getting laid off and there are 15,000 or more IATSE members. wait until we come out and show you how we feel. Who’s going to bring us treats and lattes? You have lost the respect of the industry. I wouldnt try to hang out on set anymore you are all not wanted.
“This is the Exact opposite of what other Late Night Hosts have sacrificed doing to Support the Strike.”
Ellen’s not a late night host. How, exactly, did you overlook that detail?
In June, Ellen will support SAG because it fits into her vacation schedule/summer hiatus
also she won’t want to alienate SAG or she won’t have guests
writers are much easier to pick on because they aren’t visible
until now
Scfrewed crew gal,
Bless the crews and all the thankless work you do. Pity IATSE (or AFTRA) for the short-term benefits of breaking the WGA strike and helping the studios and not a fellow laborer. Your right, work would not get done without IATSE…or any other media union. However, please appreciate the writer’s work and please stop supporting the media conglomerates.
Please watch the below link and understand what is at stake for all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beMNePzqpzQ&eurl=http://weblogs.variety.com/wga_strike_blog/
Why aren’t we attacking Tina Fey for still acting on 30 Rock? Or JJ Abrams for directing Star Trek? They’re both writers first, but WGA is so poorly managed that they didn’t get alliances with other guilds weeks ago, as they should have.
It’s wonderful to see the people who are striking, despite the fact that they don’t have a union behind them in case they’re sued for breach of contract.
Ellen’s actions aren’t honorable, but she’s not wrong for doing them either.
The real enemy are the networks. We must remember that! Infighting is an age-old ploy to tear a strike apart!
I’m wondering why no one is attacking Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc. for continuing? These are the shows that Ellen should be compared to, not the late night crowd. It’s easy to say that the late night hosts are showing solidarity when their competition is all taking a break as well. Makes the decision much easier, doesn’t it?
Let’s quit the hypocrisy. If we’re going to attack Ellen, we need to attack JJ Abrams, Tina Fey, and all others who are similarly crossing the picket line.
I fully support the writers, but attacking Ellen isn’t going to win any points in this battle. Saying things like “she’s not welcome in NY” is just going to turn people off that already support you.
Basically it comes down to this: who will the average American support: Ellen or the writers? Even though writers are extremely important to the entertainment industry, middle America will not take kindly to someone attacking one of their daytime idols. Applause to those who pointed out that actors are crossing the picket lines to work: Wait until February and see if any actors still show their support. I bet most will be grumbling and wanting to get back to work.
“People that live in glass houses should’nt throw stones”
I know we’ve all heard that before(or most of us). It makes the WGAE *LOOK BAD* to sling dirt at Ellen. I am more than sure that Ellen WILL NOT affect the outcome of the strike. JUDGE NOT…